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Minutes | Board Governance Committee (BGC) Meeting 3 September 2015

BGC Attendees: Chris Disspain – Chair, Erika Mann, Gonzalo Navarro, Mike Silber, and Bruce Tonkin

BGC Member Apologies: Cherine Chalaby and Suzanne Woolf

Invited Guests: Ron da Silva

Executive and Staff Attendees: Megan Bishop (Board Support Coordinator), Michelle Bright (Board Support Content Manager), John Jeffrey (General Counsel & Secretary), Vinciane Koenigsfeld (Board Support Content Manager), Liz Le (Senior Counsel), and Amy Stathos (Deputy General Counsel)


The following is a summary of discussions, actions taken, and actions identified:

  1. Minutes – The BGC approved the minutes from the 24 August 2015 meeting.

  2. Reconsideration Request 15-11 – Chris Disspain abstained from participation in this matter noting a potential conflict. Staff briefed the BGC regarding the request submitted by Motion Picture Domain Registry Pty Ltd. ("MPDR"), the registry operator for .FILM gTLD, seeking reconsideration of ICANN's response to MPDR's Request For Release Of Letter/Letter Two-Character ASCII Labels ("two-letter labels"). Specifically, MPDR seeks reconsideration of ICANN's decision pursuant to the Process for Requesting Authorization for Release of Letter/Letter Two-Character Labels ("Process") to withhold authorization of release for the two-letter labels that were subject to objections, most of which were comprised of governmental entities' concerns that those two-letter labels could interfere with certain two-letter country code TLDs. After discussion, the BGC concluded that MPDR has not demonstrated any conduct inconsistent with any established policy or procedure. The Process explicitly states that only the "non-objected" two-letter labels will be released within 7-10 days of the close of the comment period, which is exactly what ICANN did. Neither the Process nor any other established ICANN policy or procedure currently prescribes whether, or how, objected-to two-letter labels are to be further evaluated. With respect to the objected to two-letter labels, as ICANN has publicly stated, ICANN is currently developing a process pursuant to which it can determine whether, and under what circumstances, ICANN might authorize release of objected-to two-letter labels. As such, ICANN has not yet evaluated or fully considered the merits of the governmental objections. ICANN's lack of action to date in that regard, however, is not inconsistent with any established policy or procedure. The BGC therefore concludes that Request 15-11 should be denied. The Bylaws authorize the BGC to make a final determination on reconsideration requests brought regarding staff action or inaction. Request 15-11 seeks reconsideration of a staff action or inaction. As such, the BGC concludes that this determination is final and that no further consideration by the Board is warranted. The BGC notates that it will continue to monitor the development of the criteria and process for evaluating objections to the release of certain two-letter labels, and will continue to urge staff to proceed as expeditiously as practicable.

  3. Reconsideration Request 15-14 – Staff briefed the BGC regarding the request submitted by Foggy Sunset, LLC seeking reconsideration of the Community Priority Evaluation panel's report ("CPE Report"), and ICANN's acceptance of the CPE Report, finding that Asia Spa and Wellness Promotion Council Limited's ("ASWPC's") application for .SPA prevailed in Community Priority Evaluation ("CPE") for that string. In light of the CPE results, the contention set for .SPA has been resolved and only ASWPC's application will proceed. Specifically, the Requester claims that the CPE panel evaluating ASWPC's Application ("CPE Panel") violated established policy or procedure by considering letters of support for the Application that were submitted more than 14 days after the Application was invited to CPE. After discussion, the BGC sought additional information and clarification from Staff regarding the CPE process and agreed to continue its discussion regarding Request 15-14 at the next BGC meeting.

    • Action: Staff to revise materials for further consideration by the BGC at its next meeting.

  4. Nominating Committee (NomCom) Chair and Chair-Elect – The BGC discussed the Expressions of Interest for the 2016 NomCom Chair and Chair-Elect.

Published 1 October 2015